Anna May McHugh attended the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) protest outside Bord Bia offices in Dublin today (Tuesday, February 17).

The managing director of the National Ploughing Association (NPA) was joined by her daughter and NPA assistant managing director Anna Marie McHugh.

The IFA said it will continue a rolling protest at Bord Bia headquarters, which began on January 26, until Larry Murrin resigns or is removed as Bord Bia chair.

Five members of the farm organisation have also been inside the building in the reception area for over two weeks now.

Bord Bia

Farm organisations and some politicians have called on Larry Murrin to resign as Bord Bia chair over the fact that his business, Dawn Farm Foods, sourced 1% of its beef from Brazil in 2025.

They claim Murrin's company sourcing Brazilian beef is "incompatible" with his role at Bord Bia which is tasked with promoting Irish agri-food produce.

Murrin has said he has "never been conflicted" in undertaking his role as chair of Bord Bia, "which is to lead the board and ensure its effectiveness".

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon have backed Murrin to remain as the chair of Bord Bia.

Anna Marie McHugh told Agriland that the controversy has been "going on for so long" and "there's no movement whatsoever".

"We're a farming family, and we've been in IFA all our lives. My brother and my husband are farming and they're having their Bord Bia audits for their beef production every year," she said.

McHugh said farmers are annoyed about what they see as "double standards".

"We're not getting the explanations of why this is the way it is, and that the chairman is not prepared to move, and Bord Bia are not prepared to reconsider their position.

"We've a lot going on as it is with the Mercosur deal, and to think that the promoters of Irish meat have put IFA in this position, it's just very worrying. It's a very worrying position to be in. We just felt we had to lend our support to what's going on," she said.

IFA

Anna Marie said they brought "a bit of sustenance" for the protesters, including buns and cakes.

The pair also spoke with the IFA members who have been inside the Bord Bia building since February 3.

"We made a phone call through to the team that were inside and just had a few words with them and just told them to hold fast and hopefully the thing will get sorted sooner rather than later.

"Whatever about outside, the rolling situation outside, the people are changing all the time, but it's fairly tough on five people inside there for the last number of days," Anna Marie said.

Anna Marie believes that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon needs to intervene again in the impasse.

"The minister of agriculture needs to be talking. He needs to be getting them around the table and make this get sorted out, because it's too serious.

"Time should be spent in promoting Irish beef internationally and chicken and the different meat sources, rather than having this situation of an impasse between the two organisations.

"Farmers are not going to move. They're just not going to move. They're steadfast on this, and we believe they're right, so that's why we decided to support them today," she said.

McHugh also believes that Bord Bia must "recognise that this is an issue for farmers".

"It's all about promoting what these what these farmers are doing on their farms, and they're not just up here for the fun of it.

"This is a really, really busy time of the year for farmers. They're calving, they're lambing, and they're preparing for getting out onto the land, and they don't need to be here day and night.

"They're not up on a junket sitting in Dublin night after night. So, I think the seriousness of this needs to be addressed," she added.